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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: season · wind · spring · court · mug · race · fork · capital

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. spring — a coil
  3. court — for sport
  4. mug — a face
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. court — of law
  8. mug — to rob
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. season — in sport
  13. capital — money
  14. race — a contest
  15. spring — of water
  16. capital — a city
  17. race — the arms race
  18. court — of a king
  19. mug — a cup
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. spring — the season
  23. race — humankind
  24. season — of the year

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com